I’m not sure where you discern Newsroom scorning Achaleven ever re-opening. Are you confusing this with her scepticism about a “big new school”?

Since we are on revisionism, events have shown that Newsrooms rendition of the meeting detailed above turned out to be entirely accurate despite your scepticism on the issue.

Mr Sneddon did indeed announce Achaleven would re-open for business and if you read the story carefully you will see why: the parents in Connel have a statutory right to send their children to Achaleven as the school was never closed. Neery a thing Mr Sneddon could do except grin and bear it.

My congratulations to the parents and community in Connel for getting their act together to save Achaleven. I look forward very much to seeing the school’s roll and reputation built once more. And who knows: maybe we will see a new school in Connel some day so as to accommodate the increasing pupil population in the area that will follow the new housing planned for the Dunbeg corridor.

Dr Douglas McKenzie also commented

The article is hearsay:

hear·say (hîrs)
n.
1. Unverified information heard or received from another; rumor.
2. Law Evidence based on the reports of others rather than the personal knowledge of a witness and therefore generally not admissible as testimony.

The article may truly represent what people at the meeting thought that Cllr MacIntyre said (and I have no reason to doubt that) and what they thought he said may in fact be what he said (though I think we are all well aware of cases where this is not the case). To make it more than hearsay requires either a direct quote from someone at the meeting or confirmation from the man himself.

Without that we are left with just the probability that Mr MacIntyre said something about a new school at Connel but with no insight as to why he said it. If you ask Mr MacIntyre to confirm what he said and why then this at least takes us forward regardless of how much credence we give to his words.

I’m intrigued by the story but need a bit more substantiation and insight before I am going to pay much attention to it.

On a wider note, most of us here like For Argyll (and we forgive the typos). We like the commentary, we also like gossip and insight but most of all we like accuracy. FA’s credibility depends on getting the facts right. After all, you don’t want to end up with the same degree of credibility that the Council’s school closure proposals managed!

Sometimes it is worth digging just a bit deeper so as to get a great story rather than just an interesting one.

Interested bystander makes a good point: why not give Cllr McIntyre a ring and ask him for clarification. If it is true then this is a good story but if it is just hearsay then it isn’t worth commenting on.

You have to laugh!

Recent comments by Dr Douglas McKenzie

Rustle with RussellMore utter rubbish from Lynda Henderson. Have you actually spoken to Bob Allen? Whoever told you the story sold you a pup and in your arrogance you cannot admit to be wrong so you make up this story that he was persuaded not to resign.

Your position is completely untenable.

Russell back in the bathtub, now trying to sink Keith Brown’s boatI’m afraid you condemn yourself by your own words. I don’t think that anyone reading what you have written here and the language you have used would conclude anything other than that you have a deep dislike for Mr Russell and that dislike is leading you to basically lose all sense of either proportion or impartiality. It doesn’t matter how well (or otherwise) you know Mr Russell you are clearly exercised by your interpretation of his actions and it is leading you well beyond the pale in what I would consider fair comment.

This vendetta against Mr Russell and the SNP is destroying FA’s credibility and I have to confess that I’m seriously considering whether or not to continue reading FA (which will cheer Malcolm up if nothing else). I for one am becoming increasingly disenchanted by the constant negativity and sheer nastiness that has crept into this blog. I say that with a lot more sorrow than anger because I think that FA could have been great and indeed still could but there has to be a degree of balance, civility and indeed humour. All we are getting here is bile and it is causing me heartburn.

Yet again, this is another instance where a member of the Government can do no right: speak up and be condemned as “desperate” or stay silent and be accused of not serving your constituents’ interests.